The New York Yankees have designated right-handed starter Carlos Carrasco for assignment, the team announced ahead of their Tuesday night matchup against the San Diego Padres at Yankee Stadium. In tandem with the move, the club recalled right-hander Yerry De Los Santos from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
Carrasco, 38, inked a minor league contract with the Yankees in February, cracking the major league roster after dazzling in spring training. The 15-year veteran, who split time between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Mets before putting on pinstripes, boasted a 1.59 ERA in five spring games (four starts) across 16 innings.
Save for two solid starts, his spring results didn’t translate to the regular season. Carrasco made eight appearances for the club (six starts), posting an inflated 5.91 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP with 25 strikeouts, 10 walks, and six home runs over 32 innings of work. He surrendered five hits or more in half of his appearances and gave up four earned runs in three of them.
Carrasco’s struggle to turn back the clock didn’t help a Yankee rotation that’s desperate for reliable arms. The rotation, which was lauded as one of the best in baseball ahead of the season, has unraveled following ace Gerrit Cole’s season-ending surgery and reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil’s high-grade lat strain.
Right-hander Marcus Stroman was also sidelined with a knee injury in April, though he’s resumed throwing bullpen sessions and could advance to throwing live batting practice in the coming weeks.
With the arms they have left, New York’s starters are holding onto the 15th best ERA (3.92) in the 11th fewest innings (177.0) in the majors.
The numbers have swelled in spite of the club having two of the most dominant arms in baseball. Max Fried has confined his ERA to just 1.01 over seven starts this season, and the team is undefeated with him on the mound. Meanwhile, Carlos Rodon has been electric over his last four starts, wielding a 0.70 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 25.2 frames.
The Yankees have amassed nine quality starts this season – Fried leads with five, while Rodon makes up for the remaining four.
